Keeping The Faith

Teenage Fanclub announce Creation tour and reissues

Teenage Fanclub have announced ‘The Creation Years’ including remastereded albums and a series of live dates featuring music from the era.

Each album has been remastered from the original tapes at Abbey Road Studios, London under the guidance of the band, and will be packaged in a faithful re-production of the original vinyl artwork. Each LP will be pressed on 180gsm black vinyl. Initial pressings will come with an additional 7″ single.

The release of the albums will be followed by a series of live dates later in the year… Songs From Teenage Fanclub – The Creation Records Years, will see the band play live in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London.

The band have selected rarities, favourites and tracks previously unavailable on vinyl to include on a 7” with each album. These 7” singles will each feature two tracks and will only be available with the initial pressing of each album.

BANDWAGONESQUE – LP + 7″

Original Release Date: 1991

Singles: Star Sign, The Concept, What You Do To Me

1991 was a year of bona fide classic albums: Nirvana – Nevermind; My Bloody Valentine – Loveless; U2 – Achtung Baby; REM – Out Of Time; Primal Scream – Screamadelica, to name but a few. Sitting more than comfortable alongside all of these is Bandwagonesque, one of Teenage Fanclub’s defining albums. Hugely influential (Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard released his cover of the entire album in 2017) and with an unforgettable sleeve, a cartoon money bag in punky pink and yellow (which Gene Simmonds is rumoured to have sued the band’s US label over for copyright infringement) the album continues to be a firm fan favourite of fans, critics and artists alike. The singles The Concept and Star Sign both made it into the top 10 of Peel’s Festive 50 that year and the album featured strongly in the end of year polls including the NME, Select, The Face, and was crowned Best Album for SPIN magazine ahead of all of the above.

“It’s an excellent record, an incredible record”
– Melody Maker 1991

“Bandwagonesque is a beautiful body of music. An almost perfect piece of work produced by one of this country’s best, if criminally underrated, indie bands. ”
– The Quietus, 2011

“we wished we could write songs as good as them… we would tour with them and watch them and we’d think, man, if only we could have been that fucking good… all I wanted to do was write a song as good as the Teenage Fanclub”
– Dave Grohl, 2015

Release Date: 10th August 2018

The Album

Side A.

1. The Concept
2. Satan
3. December
4. What You Do To Me
5. Don’t Know
6. Star Sign

On release, Thirteen was unfairly maligned across much of the press but still reached No. 14 in the UK Charts, their highest charting album at the time. This was the band’s ‘difficult’ album following on from the global success of Bandwagonesque but they crafted an album across several months in studios in Glasgow, the band’s hometown, and Manchester. The underrated album stands up today alongside anything else they have done, confirmed by the power pop majesty of Radio, one of their biggest hits. Although named after the number of tracks on the album, the title is a clear reference to Big Star, a relatively obscure reference point at the time, but a key influence for the band. Another key influence for the album is The Byrds, a reference proudly worn on their sleeves with album’s closing track Gene Clark.

“everywhere the pleasures of harmony and wistfulness are well to the fore.” –
The Independent, 1993

Release Date: 13th July 2018

The Album

Side A.

1. Hang On
2. The Cabbage
3. Radio
4. Norman 3
5. Song To The Cynic
6. 120 Mins

Arguably the definitive Teenage Fanclub album and their most critically and commercially successful album. For many this album surpasses the genius of Bandwagonesque, something not many thought possible. The record firmly establishes the band’s sound and their individual songwriting ability hits rarefied heights – Love’s Sparky’s Dream, Blake’s Mellow Doubt and McGinley’s Verisimilitude, each a colossus in the Fanclub canon. Grand Prix is the sound of a band of considerable individual talent, and yet one that is greater than the sum of its parts, at their peak. The album has appeared in the Greatest British Albums Ever lists in Q magazine and the Observer Music Monthly and the 1,001 Albums To Hear Before You Die book.

“not only are the Fannies back but they are back with the record of their lives”
– Q magazine, 1995

“breathtakingly superb”
– The Independent, 1995

“you’d struggle to find a more perfect pop album than this. Grand Prix still sounds as fresh as it did on first listen; perhaps even better.”
– BBC, 2008

“It’s got incredible warmth and makes me feel fantastic. I think it’ll eventually be seen as the Sweetheart Of The Rodeo of its day.”
– Bernard Butler, Suede

The album gave the band their highest ever UK Chart placing (No. 3) on release in 1997. Cited by Nick Hornby as one of his favourite albums in his book, 31 Songs, the album shifts focus to a cleaner pop sound than their previous albums, adding lush orchestrations to tracks like ‘Planets’ while retaining their ability to blend beautiful harmonies and gives it an optimistic and happy mood – as close to a summer album as they have made. Songs… is the sound of a band maturing and being totally comfortable with their own sound. It has a classic contemporary sound that ages extremely well and tracks like the UK Top 20 hit Ain’t That Enough and Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From remain firm live favourites.

“in a world where you’re only as good as your last chorus, Teenage Fanclub are rarely less than Very Good Indeed.”
– Melody Maker, 1997

“In a world of tortoises and hares, Teenage Fanclub still has a knack for pulling off great pop rock records with measured, unwavering consistency.”
– AV Music

Release Date: 13th July 2018

The Album

Side A.

1. Start Again
2. Ain’t That Enough
3. Can’t Feel My Soul
4. I Don’t Want Control Of You
5. Planets
6. It’s A Bad World

Side B.

1. Take The Long Way Round
2. Winter
3. I Don’t Care
4. Mount Everest
5. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From
6. Speed Of Light

Bonus 7” Single

A. Middle Of The Road – B-side from I Don’t Want Control of You and appears on vinyl for the first time
B. Broken – B-side from Ain’t That Enough and appears on vinyl for the first time

Recorded at Dave Gilmour’s Astoria studio on the river Thames and the legendary Rockfield Studios in Wales, Howdy! was produced by the band themselves. The band were officially a five piece in the studio for the first time with keyboardist Finlay Macdonald adding an extra dimension to their trademark sound. Tracks like Dumb Dumb Dumb which Blake cites as one of his favouites (“I like the song just because of how it’s structured. It has an offset drumbeat.”), My Uptight Life and Near You make Howdy! a quintessentially Teenage Fanclub album made as their long-standing label Creation was being incorporated into major label Sony. It remains a charming album where the three-part harmonies and impeccably arranged songs create a positive, uplifting record.

“an exemplary lesson to anyone on how to stay relevant without jumping on whatever bandwagon is deemed fashionable”
– The Independent, 2000

“underlines their reputation as the leading quirky songwriters of their era.”
– The Observer, 2000

“another finely crafted release in the band’s oeuvre. Teenage Fanclub proves its songwriting muscle is among the finest in modern music”
– CMJ, 2002

Release Date: 13th July 2018

The Album

Side A.

1. I Need Direction
2. I Can’t Find My Way Home
3. Accidental Life
4. Near You
5. Happiness
6. Dumb Dumb Dumb

Side B.

1. The Town And The City
2. The Sunshines From You
3. Straight & Narrow
4. Cul De Sac
5. My Uptight Life
6. If I Never See You Again

Bonus 7” Single

A. Thaw Me – B-side from Dumb Dumb Dumb and appears on vinyl for the first time
B. One Thousand Lights – B-side from Dumb Dumb Dumb and appears on vinyl for the first time